"Absolutely Bizarre" : Supreme Court Pulls Up Hindu Dharma Parishad For Plea To Allow No One To Raise Any Issue Regarding CAA

"He said no one should be permitted to raise an issue about the CAA."

Justice Kaul sharply rebuked the counsel and said that the prayer was unmaintainable –

"Just one fine day, you will get up and file a petition with such a prayer? Look at your prayer. It is absolutely bizarre."

The Bench rejected the request of the petitioner to "tag" the matter along with the challenge against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 –

"There is no question of tagging this. This is not a challenge to any provision. Can you ask the Court this? Can such an order be passed by us under Article 32?"

The counsel for the petitioner supplied a hesitant rejoinder –

"Milord, the matter was filed in 2020…"

Justice Kaul interjected –

"You want to withdraw it, or you want us to pass an order?"

The counsel agreed to withdraw the petition. The Bench orally pronounced the order –

"Counsel for petitioner seeks to withdraw the petition. Dismissed as withdrawn."

Earlier in the year, the Supreme Court had expressed concern at the "mushroom growth" of frivolous public interest litigations. A vacation Bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Hima Kohli had criticised such a practice since it encroached on "valuable judicial time". Such litigations should be be nipped in the bud, the Bench had observed.

Case Title

Hindu Dharma Parishad v. Union of India & Ors. [WP (C) No. 820/2020]